folder

American  

[fohl-der] / ˈfoʊl dər /

noun

folders plural

1. a person or thing that folds.

2. a printed sheet, as a circular or timetable, folded into a number of usually pagelike sections.

3. a folded sheet of light cardboard used to cover or hold papers, letters, etc., as in a file.

4. Computers. directory.

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folder British  

/ ˈfəʊldə /

noun

1. a binder or file for holding loose papers, etc

2. a folded circular

3. a machine for folding printed sheets

4. a person or thing that folds

5. computing another name for directory

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• folders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of folder

First recorded in 1545–55; fold ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

folder folders

Nearby, another family clutches a folder of old medical reports, hoping the hospital can still save their loved one.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Clutching under his arm a blue folder stuffed with documents, maps, and cadastral surveys, Balliu said he has been threatened several times for trying to assert his rights.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

A simple way to imagine this is like making two photocopies of a document but accidentally placing both copies into the same folder instead of separating them.

From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026

I have a folder of Latin techno tracks that are specifically with Spanish vocals or Latin percussion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

I pull a folder labeled “Around the World” from the middle of the box and flip it open.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

The lawsuit claims that Liu did not return an Apple-issued work laptop and exploited a “rare, previously unknown” bug to access Apple’s shared network folders while employed at OpenAI.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

They all had access to the master “Toy Story 2” drive and it was easy to move between their personal folders and that central server—too easy, as it turned out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Reporting by the BBC has suggested devices can periodically capture screenshots, which are then stored in hidden folders accessible to authorities.

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

But it said a recent issue caused the tool to surface information to some enterprise users from messages stored in their drafts and sent email folders - including those marked as confidential.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

Wanda paged through one of the folders, and a thin bound book fell out of it.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Related Words

• binder
• file
• pocket